Want To Drive a Ferrari 458 Italia? Rent It at Gotham Dream Cars

So you really, really want to drive that new Ferrari 458 Italia--but there's that pesky problem of the two-year waiting list to buy one since it launched in summer 2009.

Now Gotham Dream Cars, the exotic-vehicle rental firm with New York and Miami outlets, has acquired one. And you can rent it for a day, a weekend, or a week (assuming you have the cash) to see whether you really want to get on the waiting list.

The bright-red 458 Italia joins a fleet of other new exotics, including a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder, and a Porsche 911 Carrera 2S Cabriolet.

The Ferrari 458 Italia costs more than a quarter of a million dollars, but rentals start at $2,450 a day. The 599 GTB Fiorino is just $1,950 a day, and the Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder is even less, at merely $1,750 daily. If you're feeling poor, you can rent that 911 Carrera 2S Cabriolet for a bargain-basement $449 per day.

Other Gotham rentals include a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a Ferrari 360 Spider and F430 Spider and coupe, a Lamborghini Murcileago LP 640 Roadster, and more prosaic entries like the Bentley Continental GTC, an Aston Martin DB9, and a Maserati GranTurismo.

But back to the Ferrari 458 Italia. As aficionados probably already know, its mid-mounted V-8 pumps out 560 horsepower and does the 0-to-62-mph sprint in 3.35 seconds. Top speed is more than 200 mph.

Rental clubs that pool resources to offer access to a wide range of exotic four-wheeled machinery aren't common, but despite the recession, they've persisted in offering experiences that just aren't available to mere mortals.

Internationally, groups like The Supercar Club in Australia and P1 International in the UK have pioneered and expanded the concept over the past few years, with newcomers like the RS Academy expanding the category.